


Almost Paradise

by amandateaches



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Dean beating up on himself, F/M, Fluff, fluffy confessions, hint of smut, one swear word
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-02
Updated: 2020-05-02
Packaged: 2021-03-02 06:40:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,558
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23967028
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/amandateaches/pseuds/amandateaches
Summary: Dean finds himself looking at pictures of old loves. Will he ever be able to find that paradise again?
Relationships: Dean Winchester & You, Dean Winchester/You
Comments: 2
Kudos: 14





	Almost Paradise

**Author's Note:**

> This is for the incomparable @atc74‘s Duets Reboot Challenge. I got Almost Paradise by Mike Reno and Ann Wilson, so you’re getting some romance today. I hope y’all enjoy! 
> 
> Also for a few bingos: Feelings Accidentally Revealed for @spnfluffbingo, Kissed to Keep Quiet for @spndeanbingo and “I’m sorry, did I step on your moment?” for @spnquotebingo

He hadn’t meant to pull out the photos, didn’t even know why he still had them. Lisa was on top, of course, pictures of her and Ben, and the three of them together, but, underneath, there were others. Cassie, his first love, Robin, his first kiss, Jo…so many abandoned chances, lost futures. Futures lost because of him.

“Hey, Dean, you okay in there?”

He swallowed hard, shoving the pictures back into the box, which he hastily threw under the bed just as the door opened, silhouetting Y/N standing in the dim, hallway light.

He glanced down at the floor, quickly standing from where he was perched on the edge of the bed. “Uh, Y/N, yeah…what’s up?”

She studied him carefully for a second, eyebrows furrowing with unspoken questions. “Nothing. I just wanted to check on you. You seemed a little weird earlier.”

He cleared his throat, his eyes landing everywhere but hers. “I’m fine. Long day is all.”

She hesitated for a second, and he could tell without even looking that she didn’t believe him. “Okay. I’ll, uh, see you in the morning?”

“Yeah,” he mumbled, not even bothering to wait for a response before turning his back on her. It wasn’t until he heard the door close behind him that he let out his breath, bending back down to pick up the box. He lifted the lid one last time, his hand falling on the one picture he hadn’t looked at yet, the one that had long-since become crinkled and worn from years of handling. 

Y/N.

Falling in love with her hadn’t been instantaneous. It wasn’t the lightning striking, all-incomposing realization he’d expected. It was a series of soft smiles, late nights, deep laughs, and tender hugs. It was bonding over shared interests and fighting over food preferences. It was a friendship that had grown into so much more, more than anything he’d ever experienced with any of the others.

He fingered the tears on the edges of the picture and let his finger roam, tracing her smile. It was from that day at the beach five years ago, her eyes squinting into the sunlight, her hair windswept all around her. He was pretty sure she’d never looked more radiant.

His smile at the memory quickly faded as it turned to sadness. Placing the picture back in the box, he pursed his lips, steeling himself once again. It was a fool’s dream to think he could ever have anything with Y/N. Whatever chance he’d had was long gone after everything they’d been through, everything he’d done. Friendship was all he could ever expect from her, and, if he really loved her, he’d have to accept that.

He sighed, and placed the cover back on the box, not noticing how the picture of Y/N fluttered out and landed on the floor as he stood up. Walking quickly to the chest of drawers, he put the box back in its place, in the past, where it belonged. He didn’t have any right to dream anything different.

I thought that dreams belonged to other men

‘Cause each time I got close

They’d fall apart again

I feared my heart would beat in secrecy

I faced the nights alone

Oh, how could I have known

That all my life I only needed you?

When Y/N had volunteered to go pick up the laundry from his room the next morning, Dean hadn’t thought much of it. They often traded off the chores they did around the bunker, and he was pretty sure she’d do anything to get him on cooking duty. He knew she’d been angling for a full-on breakfast buffet for days. But, when she didn’t return to the library after 20 minutes, he started to get worried.

Putting down his coffee, he made his way towards the laundry room first, finding it empty. He backtracked to her room, but it was the same result there. A little ripple of fear ran through him, and he picked up the pace, practically running down the hallway to his room. When he got there, he threw open the door, his chest falling in relief when he found her sitting there, at the foot of his bed.

But, then he noticed what she was holding in her hand. The picture.

“Uh, hey, Y/N,” he started, clearing his throat when he felt the shakiness in his voice. “I thought you were grabbing the laundry.”

She looked up at him, uncertainty written all over her face. “Why do you have this? Isn’t this from years ago, that day at the…”

“The beach, yeah,” he confirmed, nodding his head, but, again, refusing to make eye contact. 

She wouldn’t let him. Standing up, she crossed the room in just a few steps, stopping right in front of him. “Dean, why do you have this crumpled up picture of me laying on the floor of your room?”

His mind went straight to any number of excuses, but then he looked into her eyes, her beautiful, vulnerable eyes, and he knew he could never lie to her. “It’s on the floor because I must’ve dropped it earlier. It’s crumpled, because…” He took a deep breath. No going back now. “Because, that’s how a picture gets when you look at it all the time.”

“You look at a picture of me all the time?” She looked back down at it, and he could see her brain working overtime to process the reality of what he’d just said.

Well, shit, may as well jump into the deep end now. “Yeah, I keep it in a box in my dresser with pictures of all of the women I’ve…loved.”

Her eyes shot up to his.

He just kept going. “But, I guess love isn’t really the right word, because I was never really in love with any of the others. I mean, I thought I was at the time or maybe I thought I could be, but I never really was, at least not the real thing, not like I feel for you.” He kept plunging ahead, unable to stop now that he’d finally gotten started. “And, I know you don’t feel the same way about me, but I’m in love with you, Y/N. Have been for years. I mean, obviously, this wasn’t how I wanted you to find out, not that I wanted you to at all, but, now that you know, I…”

His words were cut off by the touch of her lips to his, hesitant at first, but the second he began to respond, she leaned in, weaving her hands into his hair, her tongue sweeping into his mouth. He groaned and pulled her closer, his mind going blank in her arms. When she broke the kiss and leaned back, all he could do was stare at her, dumbfounded. “Was that? Wait, what just happened?”

She grinned. “Sorry, you were talking too much.”

“Talking too much…” he echoed, trailing off, still completely confused. She must’ve read it on his face, because she reached up and brushed her knuckles down the side of his face, leaning in for another kiss.

“I love you too, Dean.”

It seems like perfect love’s so hard to find

I’d almost given up

You must have read my mind

And all these dreams I saved for a rainy day

They’re finally coming true

I’ll share them all with you

'Cause now we hold the future in our hand

And in your arms salvation’s not so far away

It’s getting closer

Closer every day

Dean tightened his arms around Y/N’s sleeping body, feeling her begin to stir. He inhaled, breathing her in, and dropped his lips to her neck, relishing the small moan that fell from her lips. “Mmm…mornin’, baby.”

“Good morning,” she said with a smile, turning lazily in his arms until they were face to face. “I like waking up in your arms.”

“And, I like you waking up in my arms,” he agreed, grinning as he leaned in to steal another kiss. “Damn, why haven’t we been doing this the whole time?”

She laughed. “Hm, I don’t know, maybe because you kept a picture of me in your underwear drawer for five years instead of just telling me how you felt?”

“Hey!” he shot back, feigning offense. “You never said anything either. Besides, I think I deserve some props for saying something now. You know, I had this whole dramatic speech thing going on.”

“Oh, I’m sorry, did I step on your moment? My poor baby.” She reached up and ran her fingers through his hair, softening the tease with a kiss to his chin that quickly turned passionate as it found its way to his mouth. His hands began to roam down her body, drawing a whine from deep within her. “Dean, please…”

“What’s the rush?” he drawled, slowing the movement of his hands as he maneuvered her until she was laying flat on her back, his weight propped up by his knee so that he was hovering above her. “We’ve got plenty of time, baby. In fact, I think we’ve pretty much got forever.” 

Almost paradise

We’re knockin’ on heaven’s door

Almost paradise

How could we ask for more?

I swear that I can see forever in your eyes

Paradise


End file.
